Transient Books is run by Alex and Magu Appella. We have been doing custom bookbinding online since 2001. We love what we do, and extending that love to the items we create by hand for clients is what keeps us in business. We care about your books. We want them to make it to you safely, and we want them to live a long, jubilant life. We’re not a big company, it’s just us. We maintain the web site, take out the garbage, water the plants, and keep a full service bookbindery up and running. We answer all emails personally. We remember your name, we remember your project.

HOW IT WORKS We are physically located in the sierras outside of the city of Cordoba, Argentina, although Alex is from Oregon originally. This means we make shipments to our US distributor in Oregon every four weeks or so via UPS. This way our clients only pay shipping from Oregon, and not from Argentina. This, in addition to each item being created by hand, means we cannot always accommodate those who are used to a technologically hyperactive pace. Double check arrival dates before placing your order!

Transient Books came about as an online business in 2001 thanks to one of my brothers, and thanks to an economic crisis in Argentina.
My computer programming brother needed to learn a new website code, and offered to make Transient Books a site as a prototype.
The frozen economy in 2001 in Argentina meant selling books or journals locally was difficult, and an unreliable way to make ends meet. Selling custom bound books via the internet seemed like a crazy idea at the time. But we had nothing to lose, so Magu and I took the leap, and worked out the kinks along the way.
This crazy idea not only continues to work, it puts food on the table and shoes on the kids (among other things). We are grateful everyday that our commute is 50 steps out the back door where we go to work at a job that brings us no end of satisfaction and entertainment. Transient Books is made possible by many: our US distributor in Oregon (my mom, of course), my brother Rick Busch who set up the site originally (we’ve since become our own webmasters), the outstanding staff at the UPS office in Córdoba, Argentina, the USPS delivery guys in Salem, Oregon, not to mention a whole string of suppliers, supporters, family, and enthusiasts in both North and South America. Mostly, Transient Books is made possible by its varied and hugely interesting clients. We never cease to be surprised and humbled by the individuals who appear in our inbox with their memorable ideas and enthusiasm.

Hear Transient Books interviewed by Susan Mills on Bookbinding Now in January of 2012. Bookbinding Now is a New York-based community podcast posted every other Wednesday.

Alex Appella , originally from Oregon, is a writer and book artist. Alex began binding her written words on a boat in Alaska, with the idea that original literature should be accessible, both for the writer and for the reader. After traveling half-way around the world with a mini-bookbinding workshop on her back (including a typewriter), and selling her artists' books on the streets and plazas of Latin America, Alex now writes and binds from her home in the sierras of Córdoba, Argentina.

Magu Appella , originally from Córdoba, Argentina,
is a singer, musician and composer--besides being a bookbinder.

Video Clip Documentary About Transient Books Made by Arlo Midgett in November of 2008, with music by Magu Appella

DON'T WORRY, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE PHYSICALLY LOCATED IN SOUTH AMERICA,
YOU ONLY PAY SHIPPING FROM OUR U.S. DISTRIBUTOR IN OREGON TO YOUR ADDRESS.
We take care of the cost of getting our books up to North America.

Transient Books has been registered as a Sole Proprietorship in the State of Oregon since 2002.
We gladly provide our Oregon address upon request.

Member of the Movable Book Society since 2010.
Member of the US Guild of Bookworkers since 2008.
Member of the Argentine Association of Bookbinders (Encuadernadores Artesanales de la República Argentina) since 2003.

We've been lucky to be invited to amazing places
to give bookbinding workshops:

CONTACT
USTransient Books Website: Copyright
2003-14 by Alex & Magu Appella
SHOPPING ON OUR WEB SITE IS A SECURE ENDEAVOR.
MOREOVER, WE DO NOT SHARE NOR MAKE PUBLIC OUR CLIENTS' EMAILS
OR PERSONAL INFORMATION.